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Let’s file this one under, “It’s about time.” Amazon is now working with retailers to help eliminate those pre-boxes and plastic sealing that is almost impossible to get open without way too much work. Instead, items will be packed in plain brown cardboard boxes and envelopes. Companies to step up to the plate first are Microsoft, Fisher-Price, Mattel, and Transcend. We figure that will not only make Amazon greener, but should certainly keep shipping costs lower. Let’s hope that they pass some of the savings on to us.

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After years upon years of frustrated purchasers cutting themselves on clamshell plastic cases, a company has stood up and proclaimed “No more!”. This morning, a letter from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos appeared on the main page of the site, informing visitors that the company will now be working with leading manufacturers to deliver products “inside smaller, easy-to-open, recyclable cardboard boxes with less packaging material (and no frustrating plastic clamshells or wire ties).” They are calling it “Frustration-free Packaging.” Really? Could a world really exist where you can simply buy a product, open a box, and easily remove said product from said box—without having to scour the immediate vicinity for a box cutter? We know, it sounds too good to be true. We applaud Amazon for standing up for both the environment, and our cut up fingers.

Joystiq and Kotaku are running with the story that the above image could be the final packaging for add-on Wiimotes. Given Nintendo’s recent proclivity to try to emulate all things Apple, the box makes a lot of sense (just look at how much it resembles the packaging for the new iPod nano. Still, we’re going to keep being our skeptical little selves and guess that this isn’t really the final box. For starters, Nintendo seems to be basing everything around a white motif, so having extra Wiimotes come in black boxes doesn’t really fit with their packaging design for the Wii itself. Also, as some forum posters noted over at Joystiq, this looks a lot like the boxes for the promo Wiimotes that were given out at the Wii press event in Japan.